They found a place where the sun had melted the snow and dried the ground. Here they ate the cold meat they had brought with them. For the first time since they had started, Angry Wolf seemed to think they had a chance to succeed.
“When we have horses again, we’ll hunt buffaloes,” Angry Wolf said.
“No other meat is so good,” Little Eagle answered.
They rested until the darkness was heavy enough to hide their movements. It didn’t take them long to reach the grove of trees. They could see the gleam of campfires on the other side of the grove.
The two Sioux slipped among the trees until they reached a place where they could see the Crow camp. There were several campfires, and chunks of buffalo meat were roasting over each of them. Some warriors were sitting around, gorging on fresh meat. Others had evidently stuffed themselves and crawled into their tepees to sleep. As Little Eagle and Angry Wolf watched, one of the warriors got to his feet and staggered to a tepee.
Little Eagle knew that sometimes warriors, who had been without food for several days, would stuff themselves with fresh meat when they had the chance. Warriors who did that would sleep soundly. He and Angry Wolf should be able to take horses without trouble.
Little Eagle touched Angry Wolf’s arm. He began to circle the camp, with Angry Wolf following him. They went around the west side of the camp and continued south until they came to the herd of horses. Even in the darkness they located the two that had been taken from them.
Angry Wolf took a careful look around. He motioned for Little Eagle to stay where he was. Little Eagle waited patiently as Angry Wolf slipped away in the darkness. While he was sure there were no guards watching the herd, Little Eagle realized that Angry Wolf was doing what should be done. A warrior should look for his enemies even when he didn’t expect to find them.
“There are no guards,” Angry Wolf whispered when he returned.
The two boys went straight to their own horses. The horses stood quietly while their riders mounted. Angry Wolf wanted to take at least ten horses apiece, but Little Eagle objected.